The Vikmordere Valley is famous throughout the Klavek Kingdom as a wild frontier of danger and adventure. To most Klaveks, the valley is a mythical place, secluded deep in the Eastern Mountains. Only the king’s colony of Rybalka brings any semblance of high culture to the primitive barbaric villages on Serpent Lake.
To the Vikmordere people who have lived in the valley since time immemorial, however, the valley’s storied myths are real. Spirits watch over the forests and prowl the waters. The mountains the Klaveks call “Eastern” loom over the valley in all directions: the snowcapped Adövyc Mountains, realm of the Jötunn ice giant kings. Since the dawn of man, the Vikmordere have carved civilization out of the harsh wilderness in the valley and fought to contain the wintry gale of the ice giants.
For those who seek to explore the valley, the forest and the lake offer adventure and danger in equal measure. Every misty isle holds a secret, be it a forgotten tomb or secluded village. Inevitably explorers hear tales of, or discover for themselves, these most notable locations in the Vikmordere Valley.
Ighdenholm
Massive Mount Ighdenholm lingers in the myths and minds of the Vikmordere as much as it looms over the valley and Serpent Lake. Upon the peak of Ighdenholm sits throne from which the Jötunn covet the valley below and observe the cosmos above, waiting for stars to align and bring about the next Ohjaslange—the Rising of the Great Serpent. Within the heart of Ighdenholm lies the Tomb of Twenty Kings, the birthplace of the Ancestor Spirit and the final resting place of the Ancestor People, the First Men.
It is these myths and more that call to adventurous Vikmordere to scale the mountain, to see for themselves the locations described in the legendary Ypos. Those who manage to return from its frozen heights are like to become legends themselves.
Crow’s Rest
Crow’s Rest is an island near the mouth of the Mohkba river in Serpent Lake, named for the murders of loud and mischievous crows that flock to the isle’s rocky cliffs and sparse trees to observe passing longships. The birds delight in strafing sailing vessels and mocking those who land on their shores. The bird’s reputation for mischief is known across Serpent Lake, but old hands often let the inexperienced amongst a ship’s crew discover the hard way how the birds entertain themselves. The crows will dare to dive ever closer to an incautious sailor to nick an earring or other shiny bauble. The onlooking murder caws a laugh at each strike that hits air, and calls out warning to the brave winged filch thief when more dangerous retaliation arises, such as a bare blade or loaded crossbow.
Crow’s Rest is otherwise an unremarkable island, typical of those found on Serpent Lake. Spruce and pine common in the rest of the valley have taken root in the rugged and rocky soil, but the isle is far from forested. Bound in the east by a crescent of red granite cliffs and rocky shores in the west, many who see Crow’s Rest for the first time say the isle resembles a sinking ship.
Ruins atop the cliffs are sometimes visible in the mists, but there is little reason to make landfall here aside from finding fresh water or seeking dry ground.
Everflame Isle
Everflame Isle, named so for the everflame trees that only grow here, is a small mountain-wreathed island on the eastern side of Serpent Lake. The island itself is bowl-shaped, the remains of an ancient eruption that created this secluded caldera.
Everflame trees bear distinctive orange, red, and yellow leaves and give off the faintest scent of burning wood. Everflame wood appears normal enough when fresh-cut, but over time as the wood dries it takes on striations of color reminiscent of the leaves it once bore. To the Vikmordere, everflame wood has no specific use, but is reserved for only the most sacred of purposes.
If the Ancestor Spirit moves you to craft an item from everflame, you must do so with reverence for the isle, you must harvest the wood and perform the crafting with your own hands, and the resulting artifact—be it an axe handle or aegis—must be gifted away.
An enormous barrow mound rises at the center of the caldera that is Everflame Isle. Surrounding the mossy mound, for miles in every direction, is a warm mud bog. Mists hang heavily above the bog. Beneath the fog canopy, wide-leafed ferns drip with sweaty dew and all manner of swamp life chitters and croaks. But in the deepest of winters, a chill wind sweeps away the warmth from the inner caldera of the isle. The fog thins as the water freezes, and the mud bog becomes frozen tundra while the wildlife waits for a thaw that may never come.
Isle of Meyla
Meyla Isle is a rocky, barren scrap of land that juts out of Serpent Lake. Nearly 100 feet tall, the apex is a narrow peak oft covered in snow. Strong winds and steep waves crash against the cliff walls of the island. The only viable place to make landfall is a thin stretch of rocky beach on the island’s eastern most shore.
But beyond the perilous cliffs and treacherous shores, the Isle of Meyla is both feared and forbidden by the Vikmordere. “Meyla” in the ancient Vikmordere tongue means, “fate” or “destiny.” According to the Ypos, the souls of the dead reside on this isle, awaiting the time when their ancestors come to retrieve them and usher them into the afterlife. If in life the soul did not honor their ancestors, it is the margygur who claim them.
The Maidens of Meyla Isle are fey creatures—the margygur—gifted with foresight. The Ypos tells of a hero’s journey to the isle to gain benefit of their visions, only to fall prey to their capricious whims.
Völsfiheimr
Völsfiheimr is the stronghold village of the Völsfing clan, perhaps the largest unified clan of Vikmordere in the valley. Located upon a knoll overlooking the Bay of Spears, the village is ringed by a dark wood palisade, topped with watch towers and with but a single gate. Approaching the stronghold from the docks and small buildings at the lakeside, one can see the peak of Ighdenholm as it rises above the canopy and looms over Völsfiheimr.
Völsfiheimr is often regarded as the locus for Vikmordere spiritualism, the place one travels to when destiny calls from an unknown direction. The hills and forest near Völsfiheimr are not tame by any means, but they are abundant with cabins, hillforts, stave churches, and hermit shrines. “Seek the wisdom of Völsfiheimr” is a common phrase amongst the Vikmordere elsewhere in the valley.
The loose alliance of clans known as the Fury Council meets in Völsfiheimr. The Council is only convened when an outside force threatens the Vikmordere way of life in the valley.
Rybalka
Rybalka sits on a peninsula within a sheltered cove, protected from the worst weather of both lake and mountain. It is a colony on the far frontier of the Klavek Kingdom, but it retains strong ties to its Vikmordere heritage. The peninsula, known amongst mariners and mapmakers as the Rybalkan Peninsula, is home to numerous factions vying for control of the small fishing village, such as the West Fold Lumber Company, the Black Bear Company of mercenaries, and the Rybalka Iron Company.
There are surely more notable locations within the Vikmordere Valley. Get in the comments or join our Discord to let us know what classic locations we’ve featured should be included in this list! Don’t worry, anything found near Rybalka will get mentioned in that article, coming soon!
